Transmission fluorimeter



Dec. 22, 1953 M. sLAvlN Erm.v

TRANSMISSION FLUORIMETER Filed 0G17. 8, 1951 FIG. 3.

MoRRIs' JLAVIN my' H FLETCHER IRVING' MAY Mam/M Gttorneg Patented Dec. 22, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE TRANSMISSION FLUORIMETER Morris Slavin, East Setauket, N. Y., Mary H. Fletcher, Alexandria, Va., and Irving May, Washington, D. C., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the United States Atomic Energy Commission Application October 8, 1951, Serial No. 250,218

(Cl. Z50-77) 3 Claims. 1 This invention relates to the art of analyzing materials by measuring the fluorescence emitted therefrom when subjected to ultraviolet light and more particularly, relates to a new and. improved lluorimeter apparatus. In the conventional arrangement of fluorimeter apparatus it has been the general practice both to irradiate and to observe the fluorescence of a sample or" material `under analysis from the same side of the comparatively thick sample and the optical system thus employed has involved the use of a comparatively large housing and relatively inefficient use of light energy. In some cases iiuorineters have also been employed in which the emitted. fluorescent light from a transverse section ci a sample is directed to a measuring means located substantially normally to the direction of the ultraviolet light with the result that the same disadvantages round4 in the socalleu reflection arrangement are found to be present. Among these disadvantages are the optical limitations imposed bythe relatively small solid angle viewed by the fluorescent light measuring means and the fact that a considerable amount of the iuorescentlight generates. in the sample under analysis is in fact absorbed Within such sample without ever reaching such measuring means.

in contrast thereto the present invention uti-- lines the direct transmission of ultraviolet light through a comparatively thin sample of material and the measuring of the emitted uorescent light at a relatively7 large solid angle along the extended axis oi the impinging ultraviolet light. Accordingly, it is an object oi our invention to provide a new and improved iluorimeter having its conventional structural elements arranged in a new Iand useful combination permitting the transmission of a portion of the ultraviolet light through a sample having a thickness which may be established to give both an optimum value ior absorption oi ultraviolet light and an optimum value for transmtting the generated fluorescent" light. A second object is to provide a rlu rimeter arrangement wherein the distance from the ultraviolet source to the iluorescent light measuring means is substantially reduced. to a minimum.

A third object is to provide a compact, inexpensive uorirneter structure having efficient light-shielding and adapted to employ ultraviolet light sources or comparatively small output. Another object is to provide a transmission iuorirneter having a comparatively high sensitivity of measurement and subjected to a minimum of stray fluorescent light interference.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a view partly in section taken along a vertical center line of a suitable rectangularshaped fl-uorimeter housing;

Figure 2 is a view taken on line 2 2 of Figure 1 and showing the top surface of a sample holder; and

Figure 3 is a top plan view of a shutter device.

Referring now to Figure l there is shown a transmission fluorimeter capable o carrying out the invention ano. characterized by simplicity of construction. For convenience, certain structural elements such as the filter and sample holders are shov-.fnfto a greatly enlarged scale and conventional details of light sealing, such as painted or covered surfaces and close tting machined elements, all of which are known to those skilled in the art, have heen omitted from the drawing. As shown, a pluraiity of vertical support rods such as is anti i l are mounted upon a supporting surface generally indicated at i2. Brackets i3 andL iii extending outwardly from a iiuorimeter housing engage the respective rod-s and by means of aoljustable fastening means l5 and ifi permit the iluorinieter assembly to be positioned at the desired vertical distance from the supporting surface.

A suitable housing 2Q constructed of wood, metal or other material ano. interiorly coated. with a light-absorbing surta-ce, such as for example a flat black paint, graphite or other material which will reduce stray nuorcscence provided an apertures bottom plate 2i serving as a threaded. terminal portion later to be described. The housing, herein shown as being rectangular in section, is likewise proviried with a removable cover plate 22 and with rear, iront sicie walls, all cooperating to form within the upper portion of the housing an enclosed compartment for a light source. Adjustahly mounted within this compartment is an ultraviolet lamp :is suspended from a tube 2i adapted to pass small aperture Ee in the cover plate and. to be suitably sealed therein in any appropriate manner (not.

3l, the light may be adjustably supported at aV desired height within the housing which in turn may be supported from rods l and il at a deN sired height above the supporting surface l2. Suitable detachable clamps 32, 33 and 3d may be provided for assembly and disassembly of the thus described structure.

For the purpose of removing heat, as by air circulation, an aperture 35 may conveniently be provided in a rear Wall of housing 25, it being understood that suitable light baffles and ab sorbers will be provided in such vent in "order to eliminate the ingress of stray lightinto' the enclosed light source compartment.

Adjacent the apertured bottom'. plate-.2 ifa housing Lili containing a light responsive means-lil i having an external electrical connection 5512 is mounted, as by a threaded twith-.thethreaded terminal collar of said plate. Housing de is provided with an aperture corresponding "to aperture in the bottom plate and both apertures A are aligned in prolongation with the of light rays emitted from lamp 23.

In the front and rear walls of the housing, suit able guide rod apertures, light sealed inanysuitable manner not shown, are provided for a shut ter means d3, best shown in Figure whichis adapted to be -shuttled back and forth as desired. as -by means of manipulation externally of the housing, thereby to open or close said light apertures to light passing from the interior of-housing 2Q to said light responsive means fil. For purposes of manipulating and guiding the shutter which preferably is permanently mounted in the housing, a plurality oi externally projecting guide rods et, t5, :i5 and fi' may ce provided.

With the above general combination of structure in mind, reference now is made to Figure 1 wherein a compact assembly conveniently termed the fiuorescent-light-producing packet, is shown removably mounted within the housing 20, as .I

upon parallel guide and light shielding ledges 5|, 52 and 53 built into the side walls of said housing. As noted from Figure 2, the front Wall of the housing is provided with an aperture'into which this assembly may be inserted and preferably the rear wall of the housing is closedsince the packet may be inserted and removed from the single aperture in one Wall only.

The packet preferably includes a centrally .disposed sample holder Si) having a central aperture into which the sample 5l may be placed and retained if necessary as by means of a nonluorescing sheet G2 resting upon the integral ledge 63 of such holder. By means ofa. handle 59' the sample holder 5G may be moved into and out of the housing as desired. The sheet 62 may cornprise a thin glass ring, a disc cut from a photographic plate or other suitable'non-iluorescing material and serves to prevent any flakes from the sample Si from falling into the lower part of the apparatus. On the side nearer lamp'23 and. closely abutting the top surface of holder S is an apertured rst filter holder 54 adapted to sup--V port a filter S resting upon an integral ledge 66 of this holder. On the side nearer'shutter 43 and closely abutting the lowervsurfaceof holder Si) is an apertured second filter holder 61. adapted to support a lter 63 resting vupon an integral ledge 65 of this holder.

The above three cooperating packet 'elements may if desired be inserted and removed seriatim and independently from housing or may befastened together as a single unit` forinsertion or removal as a single structure, as by means ofthe sample holder handle 59. .By meansof' the vthus 4 described structure, the advantages of the transmission uorimeter may now be seen in better perspective. For example, whereas comparatively thick but translucent samples of material have heretofore been analyzed by fluorimetric techniques,'we now find it feasiblel to employ a thin solid sample Bi having thicknesses ranging in the order of from 0.017 to 0.070 inch. One such sample, for illustration, can comprise a solidified ill) vmelt consisting of a mixture of alkali carbonate- "fluoride ux containing the mixture whose nuorescenceis to be measured in order to determine the content lof a Vspecified ingredient such as uranium. However,- in its broader aspects the inventionis notlimited to a solid sample, but on No. 5874;` glass permeable to the ultra-violet light of a G. E. CII-4 or Eli-4 lamp 23 and by using a complementary filter 58 as for example a Baird interferencelter peaked to 5590i50, it has been found that not more than 5% of the ultraviolet light reaches the filter B8 and substantially none of the ultraviolet light passes lter 68. Moreover, due to the use of conventional precautions for guarding against stray fluorescence, any such fluorescence originating in the upper part of housing 20 has equal diiculty in reaching that lter, particularly when the several structural ledges supporting the holders and iters are properly designed. Accordingly, the lter 68 which is permeable to fluorescent light, butnot permeable toA ultraviolet light, thus has no diculty inpassing only the fluorescent light originating in sample 6|. A suitable'measuring means 'di for the light passing through filter 58 may comprise the RCA 5819 photomultiplier tube or the photovolt electronic photometer model Furthermore, asa result of the compact packet assembly the distance from the surface of lamp 23 to the surface of means 4| may be as small as two or three inches and the solid angle viewed by light responsive means lll from a fluorescing atom located anywhere in the effective portion of the thin sample El is relatively large, thus contributing to the sensitivity of the fluorimeter. Hence, since the required light intensity of the lamp 23, as measured by the well known inverse square ratio, may be kept at the desired value with a comparatively low voltage and current, a concomitant savings in heat loss is eieoted. Moreover, use of such a low voltage lamp now makes possible the use of battery-operated equipmentin lieu of the more conventional volt A. C. supply.

As one significant feature of the arrangement employing the compact packet of a thin sample and closely spaced lters, it follows that the ultraviolet light intensity required to cause adequate fluorescence in the thin sample, is much less than required when a distant light, a lens system and a distant measuring means are used. Since the required intensity is thus reduced the lower lter GS which receives only about 5% of the ultraviolet light incident upon the top of sample 6i thus has no difiiculty in ltering out this small amount of light emitted at lamp 23 with that reduced intensity. Various changes in construction of the fluorimeter housing and the light-producing packet may bemade without departing from` the scope of the invention and it is not desired to limit the invention to the details 5 as shown except insofar as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A transmission fluorimeter of the class described comprising a light-tight housing, an ultraviolet light source totally enclosed within said housing adjacent one extremity thereof, a lighttight enclosure removably attached to said housing adjacent a second extremity thereof, a 11u0- rescent-light-producing packet mounted within said housing intermediate said source and said enclosure and intercepting all light passing from said source to said enclosure, means adjustably positioning said light source closely adjacent one surface of said packet, said packet including a centrally apertured sample holder interposed between complementary iilter holders containing respectively, a iirst lter permeable to ultraviolet light and a second lter permeable to fluorescent light, said rst lter at all times being nearer said light source, a non-uorescing, fluorescentlight-permeable, sheet member covering the aperture in said sample holder and adapted to support the sample through which the partially filtered light is passed, and a phototube disposed in said enclosure and adapted to measure the fluorescent light originating in the sample held in the sample holder and transmitted through said second iilter.

2. Apparatus as dei-ined in claim 1, wherein the plane of the surfaces of the packet elements is substantially normal to the path of the light rays from the light source.

3. Apparatus as dened in claim 1, wherein said sample holder is adapted to hold a thin sample of material having a thickness of between 0.017 and 0.070 inch.

MORRIS SLAVIN. MARY H. FLETCHER. IRVING MAY.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,768,635 Schaffner July 1, 1930 2,200,853 Porter et a1 May 14, 1940 2,381,414 Wilkie Aug. 7, 1945 2,551,542 Marsh et al May 1, 1951 

